Legging



June 12, 1928. 1,672,981

c. R. HOLCOMB LEGGING Filed Aug. 1, 1927 Patented June 12, 1928 CHARLESR. HOLCOMB, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

LEGGING.

Application filed August 1, 1927. Serial No. 209,659.

My invention relates to leggings intended for use in foundries and thelike for the purpose of protecting the legs and feet of molders duringexposure to molten metal and intense heat; the invention contemplatingfastening means which will enable the legging to be easily applied andat the same time enable it to be quickly removed when occasion requires.

The main portion of the legging consists of suitable flexible materialor fabric of more or less fire resisting quality, such as asbestos clothor fire-proofed duck, provided with fastening means of such type thatsagging or undue wrinkling of the legging is prevented and the use ofelaborate steel frames throughout the major portion of the leggingobviated.

The advantages of my invention will be readily apparent from thedetaileddescription of the accompanying drawing, where-' Figure 1 is aperspective view of my improved legging shown applied to a leg.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the legging with intermediate portionsbroken away; the legging being shown in closed condition.

Figure 3 is a perspective View of the lower part of the legging, theupper portion being broken away, and illustrating the fastening means atthe bottom of the legging as employedin Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a similar view illustrating a. modification of the lowerfastening means.

Figure 5 is a similar view of the lower end of the legging showinganother modified form of the fastening means for the lower end of thelegging.

Figure 6 is a detail view, in perspective, of another modification ofbottom fastening means. i

The legging is made of suitable flexible material adapted to yield moreor less to the curvatures and movements of the leg, being preferablymade of sheet of fire-proofed duck to constitute the main'body portion10 cut to fit about the leg below the knee and to permit the twovertical sides to lap each other when applied, in order to completelyencase the lower part of the leg as shown in Figure 1; the main bodyportion being preferably cut from a single sheet of material. Theportion of the legging adapted to extend about the front part of the legmaybe provided with one or more strips of suitable flexible materialsuch as leather.

stiffening material, preferably of fibre, se-

cured on the inner side and extending vertically as shown in dottedlines at 11.

My improved legging is designed to obviate the necessity for use ofelaborate steel reenforcing frames throughout the legging, except in oneof the sides, where the material is folded back upon itself as shown at12 in Figure 3 and secured inplace preferably by means of stitching asat 13, in order to provide a pocket for the vertically disposedreenforcing metallic stay 14 as shown in dotted lines in Figures 1 and2. This metallic stay is preferably arranged in the side which isadapted to overlap the other side 15 which may be termed the lapped orinner side. The reenforcing stay 14 is also secured in place by rivetswhich hold the top and bot-tom fastening elements of the legging.

The means for fastening the top of the legging preferably consists of asnap-buckle indicated at 16, secured to the end of an adjustable strap17; with the tongue of the snap-buckle 16 inserted through an opening 18in a finger grasping portion or tab 19 of It is ap parent that thefastening means may be quickly released by pulling the free end of thtab 19 away from thelegging thereby forcing the snap-buckle into openposition.

My present invention involves a secure and at the same time quicklyreleased fastening means for the bottom of the legging which consists inproviding the underlapping or inner side 15 of the legging at a pointpreferably slightly removed from the lower edge and on the outer surfacewith a metallic strip 20 arranged vertically, with the upper end rigidlysecured to the legging, as for example by rivets-21 so as to preventlateral movement; while the free end of the strip 20 is bent upwardlyinto hook-form to provide the upstandingtongue 22, spaced slightly fromthe attached portion of the strip.

The inside face of the other side of the legging provided with the stay14, namely the side which overlaps side 15, is provided with ahorizontally disposed strip of sheet metal 23. having intermediateportions bent outwardly to provide a plurality of tongue receiving-loopsor pockets 24. The ends of the strip and the portion intermediate of thepockets 9A, are? rigidly stained the legging, preferably by means ofrivets 25; with one of said rivets 25 also extending through thereenforcing stay 14; which is also thereby secured in place. The strip23 is secured to the outer lapping side at a point where it willnormally be beneath the plane of the upper end of the tongue 22 of strip20 when the logging is in place, so that the desired loop or pocket 24may be slipped down over the tongue 22 as shownin'Figure2. Thisfastening means not only permits adjustment to various sized legs butalso provides a secure fastening which at the same time can be quicklyundone byan upward pull on the outer lapping side which carries the loopelement.

In Figure 4-, I illustrate a similar fastening except that the loop ortongue receiving pocket portion 26 is in the nature: of a fabric strapor strip of leather rigidly secured to the legging, as for example byrivets 27;

the strap being preferably of length to provide a number of tonguereceiving pockets as shown so as to permit adjustmentto suit the wearer.This strap 26,1ike strap 23, is

positioned so as to normally be disposed beneath the top of the tongue22 on the inner I lapped side 15 of the legging; and the fastoning isaccomplished by slipping the desired loop or pocket of strap 26 over thetongue 22 like in thepreviously described construction.

Instead of employing separate strips of material for forming the tonguereceiving "portions, the overlapping side provided with stay 14, maybeprovided with one or more horizontally arranged slits as at 28 inFigure cut in the legging and preferably reenforced by stitching orreenforcing material as shown at 29. I

The inner lapped side is shown provided with a vertically arranged strip30 ofstiff fibre or sheet metal; the lower end whereof is rigidlysecured to the-legging by means of rivet's 31-, or otherwise, to preventlateral movement. The strip 30 above the riveted end is given a slightlyoutward bend so as to have the free upper end slightly removed from' theside of the legging and extend substantially parallel with the lowerattached end.

The; sltits 28, like the pocket or loop for-1ning straps 23' and 26, arearranged so as to normally 'be'disposed in a plane below the top of thetongue 30 place on the leg.

Thestay' 14 in: all of the constructionsdiswhen the legging is inclosed, notonly reenforces the outer or overlapping sideand hence holdsboth sides against saggingby reason of the fastening means at top andbottom, but thisstay enables the userto' insert the pockets or tongue.

receiving portions over the tongues and ob-" *viates the necessity ofreaching down to the bottom of the legging; release of the fasteningmeans both at top and bottom of the legging being accomplished by propermanipulation at thetop of thelegging.

In Figure 6, I show another modification of the bottom fastening means,which involves the use of a strap 32 riveted or otherwise properlysecured to the overlapping side of the legging as indicated at 33; thefastening means 33 being of a type and so arranged that the strap 32will be maintained in the transverse position indicated on the innerside, adjacent to the bottom, of the outer lapping side of the legging.The strap 32 has one end provided with the ordinary buckle shown at 34,While the long end of the strap is provided with any suitable number ofperforations as at 35 to receive the tongue of the buckle. It isapparent that the loop provided by the strap may be adjusted to thedesired size in a direction transversely of the legging in order tosnugly adjust the lower part of the legging to the wearer. The loopformed by 1 the strap 32 is adapted to receive either the tongue 22 ofthe type of fastener shown in Figures 3 and 4, or the upper free end ortongue of the strip 30 shown in Figure 5.

The fastening means disclosed in Figure 6, like the other fasteningmeans, permit the legging to be readily applied and also quicklyremoved, the removal being accomplished by grasping the tab 19 at thetop and. pulling outwardly from the leg thereby swinging the snap buckletongue 16 into open position which allows it to slip out of the split oropening 18, while an upward pull on the portion of the legging providedwith stay 14 will release the bottom fastening- The various; fasteningmeans for the bottom of the legging disclosed in the drawing permitadjustment of the legging to suit the wearer and thus obviate thenecessity of manufacturing, numerous leggings of various approximatingsizes; and while the invention has been disclosed in what is believed tobe the simplest and bestem bodiment-s, modifications may be made incertain details without, however, departing from the spirit of myinvention.

What I claim is:

' 1. In a logging of the character described receiving portion on theother side in a plane lower end to. one of said sides, .and a tonguenormally below the plane of the upper end of said tongue and adapted tobe slipped downwardly over said tongue.

3. A legging comprising a leg covering portion of protective materialformed to permit the sides to lap each other, means for fastening theupper end of the legging, an upwardly disposed tongue secured adjacentto the lower end of one of said sides, means adjacent to the lower endof the other side normally below the plane of the upper end of saidtongue adapted to receive said tongue, and a vertically disposed stayfor reenforcing the side of the legging and to control the relationbetween said means and tongue.

4c. In a legging wherein one side overlaps the other, a rigid upstandingtongue at the lower end of one side, and tongue receiving means on theother lapping side,.normally below the plane of the upper end of saidtongue, adapted to permit adjustment to different leg thicknesses.

5. In a legging of the character described wherein one side is adaptedto overlap the other, a rigid member secured to one of said sidesadjacent to the lower end and provided with an upwardly disposed portionarranged in spaced relation with the side to constitute a tongue, theother side being provided with laterally spaced tongue receivingportions adjacent to the lower end of the legging normally in a planebelow the upper end of said tongue, and a reenforcing stay in said lastmentioned side whereby said portions may he slipped over said tongue.

6. In a legging of the character described wherein one side is adaptedto overlap the other, a rigid member secured adjacent to the lower endof the inner lapped side and provided with an upwardly disposed tongue,the outer overlapping side being provided with transversely disposedtongue engaging means arranged in a plane normally below the upper endof said tongue, anda vertically disposed stay in one of said sideswhereby the relation bet-ween the tongue and said means may becontrolled.

CHARLES R. HOLCOMB.

